Based on interviews with more than a thousand Navajo Indian men and women, this book examines the associations between childhood experiences and behavior and the development of alcohol dependence in adulthood. Because Navajo life has changed markedly over the past two generations, it also examines the role of urbanization and universal school in reshaping Navajo youth and considers the implications for changing patterns of alcohol use in adulthood. In addition the book explores a wide range of timely issues such as domestic violence, factors associated with resistance to alcohol abuse as well...

In this book, the first long-term follow-up study of alcohol use among Native Americans, a physician/sociologist and an anthropologist examine the data on three groups of Navajos whom they first interviewed about their use of alcohol in 1966. The authors find verification for their initial hypothesis that young men who would have been classified as alcoholic often stop or moderate their drinking as they age. They also find that there is considerable diversity in patterns of alcohol use among both women and men.

Jerrold E. Levy's masterly analysis of Navajo creation and origin myths shows what other interpretations often overlook: that the Navajo religion is as complete and nuanced an attempt to answer humanity's big questions as the religions brought to North America by Europeans. Looking first at the historical context of the Navajo narratives, Levy points out that Navajo society has never during its known history been either homogeneous or unchanging, and he goes on to identify in the myths persisting traditions that represent differing points of view within the society. The major transformations...